New Found Lands, Empire, Exploration, and Exploitation

The so-called "Age of Discovery" was not merely a chapter of maps redrawn and horizons expanded; it was the crucible in which modern global power structures were forged. Behind the heroic narratives of navigators braving uncharted seas lies a far more complex and often painful legacy-one marked by colonialism, exploitation, and relentless extraction. Vast territories were claimed in the name of crown and cross, their resources-gold, silver, spices, timber, and later rubber, oil, and minerals-systematically extracted to fuel the industrial ascent of distant metropoles.